European country cake

Miss Tween phoned on Monday.  I was unable to take the call,  and when I did get to look at my phone to call her back, I was a little worried.  I had many many missed calls from her.

She had to make a cake for her homework, and she couldn't do it at home because her parents kitchen was part way through being refitted.  It needed to be complex and complicated, like something form Bake Off.  It had to be a European cake.

I asked for clarification . Were we looking for a national cake of some country or other  or did it have to have a country theme (like colours, flag, you know the sort of thing).    It turned out that she wasn't really sure.

So, yes, of course she could come over on Wednesday after school and make a cake,  and I would see if I could come up with any ideas.

I guessed that people would already be making flag coloured sponges,  or icing cakes with flags, or whatever.     I wracked and wracked my brains.  DH and I chatted about it.  And then, out of nowhere, inspiration struck.

We were going to do Switzerland.

I desperately tried to find a suitable cake tin online, but there wasn't anything that could get here before Wednesday (and my local shops didn't have them).   In the depths of my cupboard I found a terrine pan,  so I had a go at making a base cake.

I had already looked up cake carvingon Youtube, so I knew that I needed a rigid serrated knife,  and I needed a firmer sponge.  One lovely lady suggested Madeira cake,  so I found a suitable recipe., and made the cake,

When it came out of the oven, as I expected, it hadn't risen enough. I calculated the volume of the tin, and the volume of the cake and compared them. The cake was 80% of the tin, so I needed to increase the ingredients by 25% *(Ha, maths, you can't get me.  I nearly only increased it by 20%,, but I' used to trixks like that!   T o my immense delight,  the second cake filled the tin exactly and was square!

I had a play with the first version, and realised that my initial idea (or cutting it along the diagonal length into 2 triangles) was unlikely to work,  Instead,  I had a play with carving, and achieved something...respectable.

I gave Miss Tween the ingredients list for the icing (Nutella and Philadelphia), but I already had the rest of the ingredients in my cupboard.

Wednesday came,  and we set to work as soon as she arrived.   Madeira cakes take a while to make because they aren't "all in one" cakes.    It took some time to get the base mix made,  and Miss Tween had to do it all herself.  It then took 45 minutes for the cake to cook, and then it had to cool.

We made the icing while the cake was cooking.  I wasn't sure that one batch was enough,  so Miss Tween had to run to the shop to get some more unsalted butter.   After we'd made the second batch  I had a minor heart attack when I notcied the foil lid of the Philadelphia tub.   How could we have missed that?!  What a waste of butter and icing sugar.   Disaster!

But then I realised that the foil lid is only an advert for a different flavour in their range.  What idiot thought that was good marketing?!

While we were waiting,  I got her to practise carving on my cake from the day before.  I showed he how to support the cake while slicing,  how too take a small bit off at a time,  how to clean the crumbs off (and why).

Then it was on to the real cake.

I made a template for her, showed her what to do woth the first one. She then took over and it took forever as she was, naturally, nervous about it.

 I cocked up slightly, I thought I'd made the gaps (in the template) big enough to get a small icing palette knife in, but I didn't.  It made the whole thing even more challenging that it needed to be.

We brushed away the crumbs, and then started on the icing.

 I showed her how to do the covering, and explained why we were decanting the icing , a bit at a time, into a separate bowl. [in case she got crumbs on her icing knife and transferred them to the icing bowl]

She started with the in-between bits,  then did the insde triangle sides,  then the outsides, then the top As time went on, she got better and more confident at it.  We stopped for dinner.

 Immediately after dinner,  she did the ends and the base,  re-covering the sides as well.  I got her to use a cranked palette knife for this.  She was insistent that she could do it with a flat one (she was understandably tired).   In a moment of slight exasperation on my part (I was also, understandably, tired),  I got her to try and do one side with the flat blade,  and I did the other side with a cranked blade.      She then swapped to the cranked blade without complaint.

And here we have it.

Switzerland in cake form.

UPDATE:  It was a success. All slices were quickly sold.

Although it's just occurred to me people might have been epecting a Toblerone flavoured cake.

Oh well.

Three flocks.

We're continuing to give bothe the Oldies and the LIttlees the full run of the garden for most of the day.   For a part of the day, I put netting up to keep them in the others' run.  This gives the Littlees an opportunity to explore the Oldies area without getting molested.

Mostly, things are quiet.    They are mainly going round in 3 flocks.  The Gang of 5 Littlees,  who beetle around in an arrowhead-shaped flock;  The pair of OldestOldees, Poppy and Gloria,, who are both 8 uears old and  moulting and really can't be doing with anyone;  and the 3 Younger Oldees, Fleur, Poppy and Fay. 

The three groups move around the garden, mostly avoiding each other.  Fleur continues to be a problem, attacking the Littlees at every opportunity.    

I expect we'll have more skirmishes when we try to put them all together permanently.  ANother few weeks before we get to that point though.

Trying, again.

Wash isn't right.   He's not himself.  He's spending all his time hidden away.   We're giving him some space, but we are concerned.

The sewing table is no less cluttered than it was last time I wrote. No real excuse,  just stuff.

I went to Pilates today, 3rd Friday in a row.  I will add the Monday classes back in to my routine soon.


My brother (DB) phoned me today, from hospital asking for a lift home so he could be discharged.   He'd been admitted on Tuesday, and was being discharged today.  He hadn't been able to let anybody know because his mobile phone, with all our contact info on, was dead.

He'd been unwell at the weekend. He mentioned it to his good friend and dancing teacher on Monday,  and the friend was concerned and said he should go to get ot checked out in case it was something serious.  At work the next day,  a colleague said the same thing.  Fortunately DB listened, and went to his GP, who called an ambulance.

I contacted his friend to let him know that all was now well, and he was very relieved.  He'd been trying to get in touch with DB aince Monday to check on him.

I could pretend that I would have done some sewing if only I hadn't been busy with DB.  But that would be a pretence.  

Something else would have occurred to prevent me, I'm pretty sure of that.

Gold Sta

MIss Tween's previous schookl were rubbish at marking her holiday homework, so she always did it knowing that they probably wouldn't even bother to look at it,

Her new school gave this year's intake holiday homework to do, even though the intake hadn't actually started at school.  I mentioned some of it in earlier posts.    Miss Tween wasn't happy about it, but got into it a bit as she did more and more tasks, and as her booklet came together.  

By the end, she was working really really hard at maing it look good, and shesqueeed in extra task after extra task.

The school use the homework to get a feel for child.  It helps them understand how motivated they are,  and what some of their strengths and weaknesses might be.    We didn't correct any of Miss Tween's work, because we wanted the school to get a true picture of her abilities and needs.

Since starting at the school she's had 'normal' homework, and tests in some classes,  which is still focussed on the school finding out what the intake already know.     She's been frustrated that there are lots of areas that she doesn't know anything about. She's very cross with her old school.    We've said not to worry about the actual scores she's getting,  just to use it to know where she needs to work extra hard.

We hadn't heard anything about the mammoth summer homework until she She messaged me last night.
 
"You know the homework.. I got gold, the highest mark"

We're so pleased...She really deserved it.  She worked so  hard.

Trying

After my last blog entry, I felt motivated enough to attempt to clear the sewing table.  I felt seure that clearing the table would free my mind, and I'd be motovated to sew,

Nearly.  Not quite.

I moved a whole load of stuff off (mainly crboard templates, and some random patterns which I squished up and stuck in an A1 hangaplan.   I couldn't put them away, as putting them away required a heavy duty hook to be drilled into the wall in the upstaurs bedroom.   Still, I got them off the table. And I moved the clean washing,  and some other random bits.

Then I had breakfast, and DH tried his home grown, home pressed, home pasteutised tomato juice for the first time... and declared it good.  Even better than the pre pasteurised pressing.  This is fab news, as it means  we'll get real valie from the tomatoes,  and my 500ml Weck flasks will come in handy at last.

We had to work out where we were going to store many such bottles, and it was going to require a bit of a reorg.    This morning, poor old Wash had to go to the Vet for x-rays/   When we got back, I did some chicken stuff (including trying to feed all of them corn kernels,  which worked reasonablywell as Fleur was no where to be seen.

DH had to go out this afternoon, so I got on with the reorganising,  rying to take my mind of Washy.   It took a looooong time,  it was like one of those puzzles with sliding pieces.   I put some saved bottles into the recycling,  I revamped my "glass jar" storage, moved stuff in the utility room, blah blah blah.   Anyway, it's all done now, and it all looks very organised.    I give it a week.


It's a good job I had cleared the sewing table, because it's right underneath the jars, and it was covered in stuff under review today.    Most of the stuff has gone now, but there are a couple of items I've posted locally to see if anyone wants them before they go in this week's recycling.

The Weck jars have just finished being spruced up in the dishwasher, and are ready for juice tomorrow.



We collected Wash this evening, and he's back in the big crate for tonight.   From tomorrow he doesn't need to be crated, but he's not allowed outside for a few days until his insulin levels stabilise.

I'm trying Feisty Tapas (Maria Bravo) pressure cooked meatloaf for dinner tonight.  I didnt have a loaf tin that fits inside the pressure cooker.  Or, more accurately,  the one loaf tin I had that would have fitted was too good to do it to.   I had an insert  thing from my old Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker, so I've tried using that instead.  Who says meatloaf has to be loaf shaped?!

 

Changing Rooms

For the last couple of days we;ve been letting both sets of Girls out, with the complete run of the back garden.

It's mostly been OK;  Gloria and Poppy re both in heavy moult, so are keeping out of the way a bit;  Fleur is being a bit of a b*tch. 

The Big Girls like to get to the Pampas (which is in the LIttlees area),  or in to the Littlees run to eat the treats in their hanging feeder.  So, I took the opportunity to shut the Littlees in to the Big Girls run so theycould have a good look round.   I've done it for a couple of days now, and the Littlees are quite happy in there.

They are still in no way ready to stand up to the Big Girls though, so integration is a long way off.

The Big Girls run has been partially divided, and I've started to move stuff around.  I'll keep it at this "one day at a time" pace for now.

I've been leaving the Littlees coop door open at night for the last few nights so they can get up at the same time as the Big Girls (whose coop door is on a timer).   However,  I don't sleep well when I've done this, and have to get up at least once in the night  (3 times last night) because I can hear a noise and I'm afraid it's a fox.   I'm going to have to shut the coop door at night for a while, I need to catch up on my sleep.

...

My cutting table is full of stuff, and it is amusing that this is always a good barometer (canary in the coalmine!) for what is happening in my life generally.   A clear table means I have a clear head, I'm on form, amd I can tackle anythinh.  I'm also likely to be doing something creative.

A table cluttered with sewing stuff usually means I'm trying to sew something, but I'm stuck for whatever reason.  Maybe I can't find the right pattern, or the right fabric,  or I don't want to sew the pattern I've chosen, or I'm stuck on how to do something.

A table cluttered with different stuff usually means that I'm having a bit of a tough time, and I just can't get motivated (or I've got too much else on) to clear it.  That's where I am right now, although I'm hoping that writing this down will give me the kick I need to go and attempt to clear it.

I've been unable to set my mind to anything creative (apart from idly investigating a different craft to try,  because another set of carp  equipment and supplies is exactly what I need [sarcastic voice],  and it's much easier to spend a few hours looking at this and that than it is to actually do some clearing up. ).  I'd found a half day course, but it's about 4 hours away, and not 4 hours in a direction of any use for anything else. 

 

I found some fabric I know my DGGwill like,  so I've bought some.  I broke my self-imposed fabric ban to do so, but I've bought barely any fabric all year so I don't feel too badly about it. .  I messaged her to ask her if she would like it. I didn't mention I'd bought it because I didn't want her to feel obliged to say yes.   She was very happy about it.  And, on the plus side,  I accidentally inspired her to make a top.  She cut round one she already had to make a pattern, and whipped something up.  She's much more creative and adventurous than me.   I'm happy to know that she's still sewing. 

I made yoghurt last night, but the milk was a little too warm when I put the starter yoghurt in, so the end product wasn't as thick as usual.  I strained it today, so it's a little thicker, but it isn't the usual greek-style thickness.  

I used the whey to make a batch of sultana scones and a batch of cheese scones.   The cheese ones are great, I haven't tested the sultana ones yet.

DH has made tomato juice (for drinking) a couple of times now, nd the second time he got the balance of salt just right.   We decided to take the plunge and try pasteurising some.    He was using salad tomates (rather than roma type) for this as we have quite a lot of them.  He made 4 litres of jiuce last night.    We decided to follow the US processing guidelines, and add lemon juice or ctric acid to each bottle.   Unsure what impact it would have, we did 4 bottles with lemon juice and 4 bottles with citric acid.    I'm interested to see what the taste difference is, and I really hope this works as it is alwayse rewarding to preserve something DH has grown.

Last night I made a pressure cooker Pork Butter Curry, using the Butter Chicken  recipe from Urvashe Pitre's Indian Instant Pot cook book.   It was really good,  we both really liked it. In fact we both liked it a bit too much.  I normally use about 500g of pork, which gives us 2 portions to eat, and 2  portions to freeze.  There was only 1 portion left to freeze.  I'll be making it again soon.

I also got my hibernating water kefir out of the fridge and I'm attempting to revive it.  I bought a jar with a strainer on it, which (in theory) should make it a little less faffy.  I'd bought a half sized jar for my milk kefir the other day, and that seems OK.   If I can't keep it going, I'll put it back into hibernation.

....

Wash continues to be on cage rest. He's not improving, so he's booked in to have his shoulder x-rayed in a couple of days.  It's a little stressful.

Other family stuff, not my stories to tell,  are ongoing.

 

 

Let's try that together now

This morning was an unexpectedly gorgeous  morning.   I decided to try opening everything up so that both flocks could go anywhere in the garden.

The LIttlees were full of glee and ran, as a flock, to their old ranging area (our "lawn").   Sasha arrived soon after, intent on getting to the bird feeder area, and the little ones ran off, as a flock, somewhere else. 

They decided to try and explore the Big Girls area..At first it was OK


They passed a shell shocked Gloria, who only managed a "WTF??" peck.    Poppy, who has dropped loads of feathers in a moult over the last couple of days and is presumably feeling a bit vulnerable, kept out of the way.




 Fleur was around the other side of the garden, and hadn't yet realised what was going on.  Fleur continues to go nuts when she sees the Littlees,  hurling herself at the netting in an attempt to peck them.

It was OK.  The odd squawk as someone got in the way of someone else,  but actually both groups were so happy to be allowed somewhere else that their paths didn't cross too often.

Then Fleur arrived.

Four of the Littless fled.  She managed to get  Summer, on her own, in the covered run.   Fleur didn't attack,  she was pacing up and down keeping Summer cornered.  Summer was panicking and shrieking.   I went in and stood between them so Summer could escape.

The LIttlees had all returned to the safety of Pampas in their normal area.

I'm washing floors downstairs at the moment (when I'm not typing),  so I'll leave the areas open for now.

Good neighbours

Our lovely neighbour popped round the other day to tell us that she was thinking of moving.  I cried.

We moved the Littlees from our back lawn, so that it would be less off-putting for potential purchasers.  They are still in the back gardem, but their run now adjoins the older girls run.  I mentioned this the other day, so I won't go through it again here.

DH and I walked to Pilates this morning.  (I'm trying to restart now that my health is improving).  By the time we walked back an hour and ten minutes later,  a For Sale board had gone up.

I decided we should do something about our front garden, again so that we didn't affect the kerb appeal for her.      We raked out the front bed, and piled four bags of bark chips on it.  It instantly looked better.

I also spent some time hoeing the weeds out of the driveway paving,  and sweeping up the plant debris that had got everywhere.   It was very hot,  I was already cream crackered after Pilates,  and 30 mins in I'd had enough.

I'm not aiming for perfection,  nor even "neat and tidy",  I'm just aiming for "not too embarrassing".

There's more to do, but that's a job for tomorrow.

CBA

I feel like I'm always thinking/feeling/saying this.... I've been struggling with a severe case of CBA (Can't Be A*sed).

I've been bobbing along, neither drowning or sinking,  but just not quite able to overcome it.   Every time I get a puff of wind in my sails, it feels like something happens to make the wind dissipate.  Not enough to push me into a real funk,  but enough to keep chipping away.

It would be too tedious to write about those happenings,  and some of them are not my news or my story to tell anyway.

I'd been trying to motivate myself to do some sewing, but I'm here writing this blog post instead.

So, while I'm here, let me update you on the Girls and Boys.

At home, we decided to move the Littlees run to be right next to the Big Girls run.  We'd planned to do that at some point, but decided to do it sooner because we wanted to move the Girls away from our next door neighbours fence.    She is quite happy for them to be where they were, but she'll be having visitors soon,  and I know some people are really funny about that sort of thing.   We told her what we were doing,   and she emphasised that the chicks being where they were (and she appreciated why we were doing it).

Blondie

Sylvia

The Girls also have adjoining external runs, and space where they aren't adjoining.    Fleur, our cuckoo Marans,  has been outraged by the move of the Littlees,  and spent a lot of time patrolling the fence line and hurling herself at the Littlees whenever they got within striking distance;   Gloria and Poppy, our Oldies, are in full moult and are keeping their distance. Gloria has really slowed down over the last few months,  and I think she is on her way to losing her place as Top Chook;     Sasha, the Appenzeller,   complains loudly, most of the time;    Fay hops in and out of the Littlees' run,  and makes a point of puffing herself up whenever their paths cross.

Astrid and Summer

The  Littlees will be 15 weeks old this weekend.  The Leghorns are pretty much fullly grown, size wise abd are bigger than Fay (although they don't realise it).   Their wattles are starting to develop into adult wattles,  but they have a long way to go.  Their combs are also tiny for Leghorns.   They continue to be skittish, and I'm losing the enthusiasm of trying to tame them.   They aren't going to be like Lily or Lotti.

Sunshine, one of the Gold Partridge Leghorns, is the shyest of all, and I wonder if she's at the bottom of the pecking order.  Or at the top, and therefore not interested in being friends with me.

Sylvia, the Silver Laced Barnevelder,  is Barney shaped, but still small.  Barneys are slower growing, so it's not surprising.

I'd really really like to have chicks from the Leghorns, crossed with a Cream Legbar boy (to produce blue egg layers).  .  I know it's likely to be 2021 before that happens,  but part of me is hoping that we might be able to do it next year.

I don't have any recent photos of the boys.  They are all still getting on OK, and I'm hoping that they can have a longer lifespan than previous hatches.   It depends on their behaviour as they develop.   Currently BigBoy (Gold partridge leghorn) is top cock,  and treats the boys like his little flock.   The Barney boys are soft docile things (at the moment).    Long John (the silver duckwing leghorn) is developing quickly,  and Bertie Junior (Vorwerk dad, welsh black x Mum) uis looking more and more like a Jack the Lad every day.

I am already wondering if we might be able to keep 2 of the Barnevelder boys.  It seems possible right now,  but these things can change in the blink of an eye.

In Bertie Senior's flock,   most are moulting.   We've got some very senior Girls in the flock,  a lot of them from the same hatch,  so at some point I expect we'll lose a few in one go.   We don't cull the girls just because they stop laying,  we want them to have a long and happy retirement.

Bertie, who has had his card marked for repeated bad behaviour,  has had a short stay of execution.    We've decided to keep him until we take the boys to be culled,  and he'll be culled at the same time... unless he has another incident, in which case he'll go straight away.

End of the holidays

Yesterday was our last day looking after Miss Tween.  She starts secondary school today.

A large part of her time with us was spent in enabling her to do her homework.  She worked really  really  hard, and produced a booklet to detail what activities (from the assigned list) she had completed.  Each activity had to have photographic evidence, and be signed and dated by an adult.

I think she detailed documented 20 activities, and I really hope they read her work.  Her best friend's booklet content was atually written by her mother,  just copied by the girl concerned. 

One of the activities was to research and write about 5 different types of tree.    One of thetypes I suggested was Monkey Puzzle,  and we got help from our local village to find out where there were MP trees of various ages.

We took a photo of her standing beside each tree so we could get an idea of scale.

They ranged from about 8 years old to about 175 years old.

 

St Jude's Church

WIndsor Great Park, 25m, rare as it has babies!

 We were impressed by the tree at St Jude's church... and the we found the one at Windsor Great Park!

The oldest, tallest, tree that we found was in Windsor Great Park, near China Island.

I think we were responsible for about 15 of the 20 activities in her book.

Olfactory sensitivity

My brother's granddaughter, Miss A,  has very heightened senses.  We know that she is very sensitive to noise, and light, and smell,  and sometimes her processing system gets a bit overloaded and she has to do the human equivalent of going offline and rebooting herself.

My brither and I were taking her to London recently, to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.  It was actually a birthday pressie for two of my grandchildren,  and we were meeting them in London.

When my brother and Miss A arrived at mu house,  I asked if they wanted some breakfast.  Dinner, before the show, wasn't until 5.15    Miss A declined,  so I offered my brother some waffles.   I have a waffle maker, which I rarely use,  and I'd recently bought some ready-made waffle mix.  I was keen to try it before risking offering it to the grandchildren the following day. I guessed that Miss A might change her mind, once she saw the waffles.

My brother realised what I was doing, and saud he'd love some.  I got the two of them to make up the battr, while I sorted out the waffle maker.    When it was ready, I put some batter in - not too much, I've had major leakage before.

We waited and waited and wondered howto tell when the waffles were cooked.  We agreed I should open the maker and look.   I did.  They weren't done.  It was a mess, as i'd opened the maker right up instead of just opening it slightly.

We laughed,  I put more on,  and my brother and I ate some of the partially cooked rejected waffle. It wasn't bad,  Miss A nibbled on a bit.

We speculated again about how long to leave the second attempt.   Siuddenly, Miss A said "It smells different now".  We looked at her.  I sniffed the machine, and she was right.  There was a slight sweeter smell.  I opened it up,  and we had two perfectly cooked waffles.

MIss A decided she would like some waffles please.  She tried some maple syrup on her finger, and then decided to have that, and ice cream, as well.

The next lot went in,  and my brother and I smelt around the machine.  It smelled like....someone ironing clothes, actually.  I kept having a sniff,  and then suddently, the smell changed.  Just as I smelt it, Miss A announced from the other side of the room that the smell had changed so they were probably done.    We were right. They were.

That was all the waffle mix used up.

The next morning when my grandchildren got up, I offered them waffles.  I told them abouf Miss A's olfactory sensitivity, and the fact that you could smell when the waffles were cooked.

And do you know what?    

For the first set, I couldn't smell a change so I opened up the wadffle aker, just a teeny bit.  T=I hadn't smelt annythng, because they weren't done!.   A minute later, I could smell the difference.

It worked for all the waffles !

MOving Day

Wew got everythingpacked in the car (food,  cover for the run which we'd forgotten the day before, greens, etc).  The travelling crate was in the boot and ready.

The Barnies were easy.  Once I'd caught them, each sat beautifully in my hand and ate my treat offering.  I popped them in to the travelling crate with some treats.   teh Leghorns were difficult to catch and would not eat once caught,  not even Long John.   Bertie Junior was a bit of trouble, but happy enough.

We drove slowly and carefully.  At the allotment, we put them in their coop, with the door shut.  We rhen busied ourselves with other jobs, like egg collecting and washing and filling waterers.    We then opened the coop door, and carried on with jobs (mucking out, this time).

Paul came out early on and wandered around.  He ate some corn, he had a scratch around.  I caught him and stroked him, and put him on the feeder, but he ran off.  A little while later, I opened the nest box to find the others all sitting in there.  I told them to go out and explore, and threw some more corn.

I caight them, put them on the treadle.   They are used to operating a treadle feeder,  but they need to know that there is food inside.

All but BigBoy came out.    Eventually I had to open the nestbox door again to encourage him out.

I've seen it before:  the one who is boss here in the garden is not so cock sure when they move to the allotment.

By the time we left, they'd all been scratching around, drinking,  and listening to Bertie Sr crow.  Bertie Sr obviously knows they are boys, because he had to get on top of one of the coops to crow, and he did a lot of displaying for his laydeez.

We'll go back tonight to make sure they all manage to get to bed, and to see if they've managed to work the feeder. 

And I'll be back again tomorrow morning.

Nothing to crow about

Last night we decided to try shutting the coop door on the Littlees.    It doesn't sound like a difficult decision, but it is. Was.

Firstly,  there are 11 very small chickens in a small coop.  It;s OK with the door open, they are still small.  If we shut the door,  it could get a bit too hot.

Secondly,  if the door is shut and one of the hormonal boys decides to start trouble,  there is no way for his victim to escape.   BigBoy had been causing trouble and dissent all day.  I had even seen him chasing and pecking the girls,  and not in a playful way.

We decided it was cool enough to risk it.  They are just below us in the garden, we slept with the window open,  and we can hear them well enough.

I decided I'd get up at about 6.30 to let them out, before trouble broke out.  If it worked, maybe they could stay for a couple more days.

At 5.15,  Sasha started.  Then Fay.  I got up, checked out of the window,  nothing there.  I stomped outside, caught them both and put them in the little wooden nestboxes.  These have been brilliant. They are tall enough for any of the Girls to walk into and sit down and make herself comforrtable.  They aren't tall enough for a bird to draw itself up to make the loudest racket possible. I left Fleur alone;  the two Oldees, Gloria and Poppy, hadn't even got up yet.

I heard BigBoy crowing in his coop.

I went back to bed.   At 6 am, Fleur started.   Fleur rarely gets gobby unless everyone else is, in which case she joins in so as  not to be left out.  I waited for about 30 seconds to see if it would subside, and it didn't.   I got up and went out.  The Oldees were getting up.  I shut the auto door on the main coop,  caught Fleur, and posted her in to the main coop through the nest box.

Big Boy and Long John both crowed, and there was lot of impatient shuffling as I walked past.

I made a cup of tea and went upstairs.  I was wide awake, so I came back down again.

I opened the Littlees coop and they all streamed out.  The two leghorns crowed.   There was some squawking and some bad tempered chasing around the run.     I opened the run so they could get out on the grass.  

Today it is.

Stone the crows

BigBoy (the Yellow Partridge Leghorn) and Long John Silver (the Silver duckwing  leghorn) have been crowing for some time .  BigBoy has almost a proper crow, just not the shrillness or volume yet; LongJohn has a strangled couple of notes.

Up until this morning,  they would both crow at an unsocuable hour, say 5.30 am,  do about 12 crows each, and then shut up until 4pm.  Then they'd both crow again.

This morning, all started as usual.  Except they wouldn't stop at one verse.  And after the two of them had had a go,  a third strangled squawk could be heard before they all started again.  The third crow is from Bertie Jr.     They started again at about 8am, and I'm sure I heard a 4th crow in there, but I couldn't tell who was the culprit.

They've had more goes during the day,  and is pretty antisocial.

So, they have to go off to the allotment.   We would have taken them today, but  I had to spend most of  the day at the hospital;   so DH got the allotment ready for them, and we're taking them tomorrow morning.

We've decided to leave all the girls here for now.  Only 2 of them are going ot the allotment,  and we don't want to have 2 girls in with 6 boys.   Even though we should have another 6 - 8 weeks before it becomes an issue,  we can't guarantee it. The Leghorn boys have matured really quickly,  and I don't want to have to be worrying about the girls.

Miss Tween is away, I'm really sorry we couldn't wait until she got back.

Long John Silver

One of our chicks is a silver leghorn cockerel, with a dodgy foot, and we've called him Long John Silver (because he's got a leg problem; and he's a silver leghorn. I had to explain it to Miss Tween).

Of all the boys we have this year, Long John is by far the friendliest.  He loves to do jumpy uppy. He's happy to be held and cuddled.     He's almost as friendly as Penguin was, last year.

I've no chance of rehoming him, because of his deformity.  Today I found myself just looking at coops,   and tryng to work out how I could fit a coop for him and two of the leghorn girls at the allotment.


I briefly wondered about trying to keep him with another cockerel in one big flock,

Or here.  Maybe I could keep him here and he'd keep the old girls in check. He might not be noisy.


It's silly.  I don't want to breed leghorn.   If I'd wanted to keep a lightweight bird, I could have kept Pengy last year. And I didn't.    And he was even friendlier than Long John..

Why has Long John got under my skin?

I put my emotions to one side, and thought about it.   I guess it's partly because he's disabled,  and he therefore reminds me of Lottie, the exchequer leghorn I lost to a fox about 3? years ago.

But its also because, this year,  we will be keeping 2 leghorn girls at the allotment.  We won't be breeding from them (not with a dual purpose cockerel, anyway), so they could be kept separate. If we had space. And a coop. I guess in the back of my mind this made me consider a little trio. Blondie, Sunshine, and Long John.      It as the attraction of  no necessary introductions to the big group.   Keep them separate. Happy.

This wasn't an option last year when we hatched Pengy. We had only dual purpose girls,  so there really wasn't a choice with him.    If I'm honest with myself, there isn't really a choice with Long John,  it's all just (chicken) pie in the sky.

Maybe he'll turn out to be a teenage thug and I'll be glad to be rid of him.

In the meantime, he continues to be first to run up for jumpy uppy, and I keep trying to work out the best ways to keep my options open. 


I won't mention any of this to Miss Tween.

Pilates

Today I went to Pilates for the first time in..... many, many months.    My leg was a bit inflamed, but it wasn't too painful,  and  decided I should make the effort.  The longer I leave it, the harder it will be to re-start

It was...OK.   I had to wear my PJ trousers because I couldn't bear the pressure of leggings on my leg.  I couldn't wear socks either, same reason.  Some of the exercises I just couldn't do. so I did simple movements while those were going on.

I'm pleased I went.

It goes to Show...

After a year of pretty much going nowhere, at all, we've been to  the theatre in London 4 times in the last couple of months.



First (and second) up was Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. This is in two parts, and I was lucky that a theatre group I belong to managed to make a group booking. We saw Part 1 on a Thursday, and Part 2 on the Friday.    

We'd been talking about going for years, but it was expensive, involved 2 trips into town, and we jist couldn't get round to it.     This year, one of my brothers/his wife, and my husband/ I decided we wouldn't swap birthday pressies, and we'd put the money towards tickets.  We be celebrating all 4 birthdays in two days, with two meals out, so it wouldn't seem quite so extravagant.


It was AMAZING.  If you like Harry Potter,  if you've seen the films,  then go and see the stage show.  The story is good,  the acting superb (especially young Scorpius,  son of Draco Malfoy), and the effects were excellent.       I'm so glad we went, it was so worth the money!

We'd been to see Only Fools the Musical with tmy best friend and her husband,  a mega fan,  a couple of months ago.  It was a great show, really well done. 

Following on from that, the four of us had a chance to go to the Only Fools Dining experience.  DH and I had been to a Fawlty Towers one previously (thanks to his daughter and her husband) and thouroughly enjoyed it.  We weren't sure how they'd weave the meal into Only Fools, but they did it really well.    The actors did a great job, and seemed to be having as good a time as the audience.



Next week I'm taking two of DSD's children to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.  I haven't seen that for... longer than I care to remember.    My niece's little girl is coming as well.  I hope they all like it!



 

Confusion

A few days ago I got a shirt out of my wardrobe recently to cover my arms when playing jumpy/uppy with the chicks  They have long nails and they scratch when they scrabble up.  I noticed a top in there, which was unusual (unusual that there was a top in there,  not an unusual top) as most of my tops are me-made, and live in a drawer.

Today I was getting changed and decided to try on that top that I saw.  I did.  It didn't fit and it didn't suit me.  I don't remember buying it, I haven't bought tops for some years (apart for a load of long cotton tee shirts for doing Pilates in).  .  I noticed another one. And another.  At least 3 brand new tops, all with the tags on.    I tried each of them on.  They were all sort of pretty on the hanger,  but none of them fitted, none of them flattered,  and none of them are wearable (not by me anyway).

I am really confused. 

If I'd bought them in the shop, I would have tried them on (either there or as soon as I got home).  If I'd bought them online, I would have tried them on and then returned them.   One of them was in a bag, so it must have been an online purchase.

I checked my M&S account, but the online account order information only goes back a year.  I went through my scanned invoices for online purchases, nothing.  Maybe I didn't scan the invoice, assuming I'd be able to access it through my account?

I guess this is how people with the start of dementia feel.  I'm seriously trying to work out who might have put something in my wardrobe...and part of me is scared that it was me and I don't remember.

Tempus fugit

We've had a busy couple of weeks looking after The Tween.  I'm exhausted!

We started with a trip to Monkey World.  This was meant to have happened at half term, but I was too unwell to travel that far.   It was a fab day, and we were able to see all the monkeys and apes that we wanted to.  We were up to date with Monkey Life - or at least as up to date as the end of the most recently televised series.  The park held a couple of not unpleasant surprises for us, including Bart being in charge of Paddy's group.

A lot of  the time has been spent doing homework related stuff.  Today's topics included hunting down some local Monkey Puzzle trees (we took a pic of her by a small, 8 year old, and another a very old one);    cleaning and disinfecting two coops (the task was actually  'wash a car',  but this was much more useful to us, and more interesting for the Tween.    

Yesterday we went to the cinema to see Toy Story 4 (part of "watch 3 Disney films you haven't seen before").  I don't think she's written that up yet,  we made fresh lemonade, and... I've forgotten the rest.

She has to do at least 10 (and ideally 30)  of the listed activities and write about each of them.  Each one has to have photographic evidence, and has to be signed by a responsible adult to confirm that it was genuinely done.

It's a bit of a nightmare - there's so much of it!

The chicks are now small chickens.  There is a lot of battling for position, and the two leghorns are crowing.     ShyBoy, our most handsome Barnevelder,  has gone to a new home.  I've been looking for homes for the other purebred boys, but no luck so far.  

The 5 Girls have, at last, all got names.  We also know who is likely to go where in the future... and if the boys start crowing any more, the future won't be too far away.   The Tween loves playing with the chicks and she's really good with them.  She knows how to hold them properly,  and she spends ages getting them used to being handled, practising their "jumpy uppy", and other things.   She's really observant as well, so we always listen if she notices anything about them.

A bit of this and that

I've been a complete butterfly over the last couple of weeks.

I was desperate to not have the pressure of a trouser leg against my bad leg.  Things came to a head when had to get them off, and I spent half a day at home, trouserless.  

I made a new skirt (Heartlight from Pattern Emporium). I've made htis before, and it's a lovely pattern, very easy to sew.  Last time I used a heavy scuba,  and it makes the skirt a bit heavy on my hips.      This time I got out two different, lightweight, stretch fabrics from my stash.

And then, once again, I ended up using too-heavy scuba, because I didn't have fabric wide enough to do the fullness without doing a hack.   The fabric is gorgeous, and it's wasted on a skirt.  I should have made leggings, or statement trousers or something.

DH isn't too keen, he thinks maxi skirts look...too long.   Trouble is, the bottom of my leg is a mess and I can't have it on display with a higher hemline. 

I then looked through my patterns to see if I had a template for a narrower skirt.  I found one and started it, and then got distrcted.  Then the sewing table, with partially completed skirt, becane a dumping ground for various other activities,  and I couldn't summon the energy to excavate.  I will try and get this completed though, because it doesn't take too much fabric, it's suitable for wovens as well, and it might be suitable for those times when my leg needs to be free.

Actually, writing that has spurred me on.  I've been working through clearing the table today, and I will try and finish it so I can sew tomorrow.

....

Cheese scones ready for the oven

Lemon Curd

I've made a few things in my yet-to-be-named  CookExpert.  DH steamed some salmon; I made some cheese scones,  and then some lemon curd.  I made aligot mash using the mouli thing for the processor.  We diced some potatoes and made parmentier potatoes.    Nothing earth shattering yet.


 I've also been using the dehydrator.  I started by drying some lovely sage leaves. Then I dried a load of catnip for the cats.    It's currently on  with some water melon in,  something which is marked as "poor" for dehydrating in my instruction book. 

Dried watermelon is bizarre. I tried some when it had been drying for about 18 hours,  and it tasted like water melon flavoured jellied sweets.    It was surprisingly tasty.  I tried a bit more. And a bit more.    The problem with dehydrating things is that its easy to what would be eat a huuuuge anount of *un-dehydrated)  stuff in a very short space of time. I've given myself a sugar headache.

Thermy went to his new home.  I realised a few days later that I could have kept him to make cocktails.   Still,  his new owner is very pleased to have him, and the money I got went towards a walk-in run for the chicks.

DH put the run up, and it's been fantastic.  A leg saver.   I've been able to play and interact with the  chicks in a way which was no longer possible with a ground run.  The chicks benefit because we've been able to put stuff in to make it more fun for them, like some wooden garden chairs.   It's fantastic because we can go out now, shut the chicks away, and not feel guilty that they are closed in.

More  about the chicks another time

Cook Expert

My Magimix CookExper t(CE)  arrived last week!

It's replacing my Thermy and, probably, my much loved but not-so-much used Ankarsrum mixer.  It may well replace a couple of other appliances too, but we'll see.

It is a massive indulgence, but one I've been saving for since I first saw it in 2016.  It was launched  before then in several Euro countries and Australia.  It was going to be launched here, too, but wasn't.     I've been following some Australian Facebook groups and one blogger in particular (The Flo Show) as she charted her journey with the machine, and did an excellent comparison of the then-CE to the then-Thermy. The CE has been updated (free updates) a number of times since the article was written,  and Thermy has released a new model since then.

And now the CE's being released in the UK in August;  some UK people (not me) have been testing it on pre-release for about 6 months,  and some people (including me) were on the 'early release' list.  I 'know' one of the testers, another Thermy owner (he has a TM31 and a TM5), and I was really interested in seeing what he thought.

I love Thermy TM31.  I think I'm going to love the CookExpert even more.

It includes a Magimix 5200XL processor system which, for me,  is a mixed blessing.   All the Magimix accessories which fit the 5200XL work with this system.     It makes the machine even more versatile than it would be without the processor (and without the processor it would still be a phenomenal machine!).  The downside is that I have to find space for the processor top and any accessories (including discs).


I sold my previous processor, a fab Sage one (they know how to do double bowls properly), some time after getting Thermy.  I found I was only using it for slicing stuff, when I had a lot of slicing to do.  And for making Hollandaise.  It wasn't really earning its space on the worktop, but if I put it in a cupboard, it would never see the light of day.   So, I bought a really good quality, safe, mandolin to do the slicing and found a good  home for Sage where he would be appreciated.  I didn't miss him. Mostly.

Back to the CE.  I was very fortunate to be able to pick up a bag of accessories at a bargain price (at such a bargain price I gave the lady more than twice what she was asking).  We've already tried a couple of them and, they're not half bad.   I'm not sure about the hassle of washing the processor parts.  I know they can go in the dishwasher, but I seem to remember that the plastic will cloud after a while if we do that.

I've been too under the weather to experiment as much as I should with the CE  but I've done enough to confirm that Thermy should go to a new home.

Recently a new UK Facebook group for  the CE was set up.  I made my first full meal from a recipe posted there yesterday,  Risotto Bolognese.   It went well.

I'm happy.

And Thermy is going to a new home, where he will be very much loved and appreciated,  this week.

Rain stops play

And on the sixth day, it rained.

We had put thin covers on the walk in run (WIR) last night, to try and keep some of the rain out.
This morning it rained,  and we put additional covers over the run and put the electric hen (EH) in and on , but it wasn't enough.

If the chicks were a week older, it would have been OK.  As it is, they still have some fluff.   The temperature isn't an issue, but the wet is.

We had no choice but to catch them and put them back in the shed.

I had been going to dismantle the stuff in the shed yesterday, bit  I washed my hair in the morning and couldn't face getting all that dust in it.    Lucky really.

On the plus side, being chickless has meant I could rake out the run.  It's not really moveable with the GoUp attached, so it really needs it.

Hope the rain doesn't stay too long.

An easier life

After one particularly painful day,   before we let them stay out overnight,  I decided that I had to so something. We had a day where, apart from putting them out in the morning, I hadn't been able to get down to pick them up at all.

So, I started looking for a walk in run (WIR). I wanted one that could be easily dismantled and stored when the chicks have, well, flown the coop; one that would be easy to put up again next year.   I tried all the usual places. A couple had already sold by the time I saw them,  a couple on Ebay went for significantly more than I wanted to pay (given the travelling distance).   Eventually,  I found one, we collected it the next day and put it up.

I sold the GoUp extensions immediately, to someone who had been advertising for a set.    I sorted out all the other run extensions we had, putting them together in bundles,  trying to find the instructions to make sure that all the bits were there.   I then started advertising to sell them.  .I had a busy few days fielding questions  of all sorts. 3 of the 4 bundles sold and were collected over a few more days. 


The WIR works really, really well.  The GoUp is currently on the outside still, connected.  I can't get to the chicks when they are in that part. There are doors to the run, but it's just too painful. So I lure them in to the WIR section with some food,  shut the connecting doorm and then I can catch them from an upright position.  There's room for me to kneel down and play, if my leg allows,.

We also put an old garden seat in there, which provides them with some additional shade,  plenty of perching opportunity, and something to jump on and off. They use it all the time.  I can sit in that too if necessary.

Later I hung the swing in there.  The 3 Barnevelder girls will sit on the swing and eat from my hand. The Barny biys won't, and the Leghorns won't.  Yet.


I wish we'd bought a WIR weeks ago.  When I checked on ebay, we'd missed several real bargains!

A whole new world...

 After some time of spending their days in the sunshine in the Go run,  it was time to think about letting them sleep outside.

The chicks loved the freedom,. Because the weather was so good, we got them out in the morning, as soon as the grass was dry (they weren't fully feathered so we can't let them get wet),  and they stayed out until about 7pm (unless the weather changed and we had to bring them in earlier).  The Hen was on all the time they were out there, just in case they needed it. (They didn't).

 We added a swing and a dustbath.

 

Every morning we ferried them, two by two, from the shed to the run.  Right from the start we have been carrying them properly, so they get used to being picked up that way.       Every evening we ferried them, two by two, back into the shed.  If we went out during the day,  we repeated the process.

Most of them quickly got used to being carried this  way and were calm. A couple, not so much.   But it was OK.

We spent a lot of time catching them and feeding them while we were holding them  special food,  or stroking them while they were eating the special food.   A lot of time was spent kneeling alongside the run, leaning in to catch/release them.


A week ago, I decided to let the chicks stay out overnight in the coop.  The small electric hen (EH) was already in there (although it hadn't been turned on). 

It had been a hot day, and overnight was forecast to be fairly warm.  12 chicks in the back of a GoUp - I didn't need to turn on the EH.

We had to catch them and put them in the coop.  Before bed I checked on them, and saw that the top of the EH was crammed with chicks, with those that hadn't been able to force themselves on stuck underneath.  I shooshed them off and put the large EH in.

Day 2, all but 2 put themselves to bed.

Day 3, all put themselves to bed.

It was all going well.

Except.   I was struggling to catch them.  I can get down OK and I can get up OK.  What is difficult -  at the moment -  is leaning into the run to catch them.    We have doors everywhere on the run, even inside so we can shut them in the front end to make it easier to catch them, but it was still taking its toll on my poor leg.

Goodbye Camilla

My lovely girl Camilla died today.

She was just 5 years old.  Daughter of Henry and Nora/Batty, and we neve another one hatch with this combination of colouring.

She had a few health issues over the years, but was always a lovely, gentle,  girl.

We moved her to our garden from the allotment a few weeks ago when it beame clear she wasn't right.  She was being picked on by some o fthe youngest girls.   We kept her in a separate coop and run, alongside the others.  She would often try and join them (not our doing), but they are exceptionally vile about newcomers.

She spent her last morning in the sun, eating sweetcorn, grapes, and yoghurt.

Dzhigitovka - Centre for Horseback Combat

The Centre for Horseback Combat had an open eveing, so we took the pony-mad Tween.

It was a great evening.  Weather was kind.  The food was great (wood fired pizza).  The show wa really interesting.  There was a demo of Pat Parellu's Natural HorseManShip, which I remember from the very beginning but which was new to the Tween;  there was a spanish dressage exhibition (not the Spanish Riding School style),  explaining how dressage was originally about battle craft;  and then there was the Dhigitovka.

It was a great evening, and I'd recommend it to anyone.

And Sew...

I managed to get a photo of Tween wearing a tank/vest top I made.  It's wearable.

I am under the weather at the mo, and I have to keep my leg elevated.   We brought our Lafuma chair in and I've been using that to sit in: it's comfortable, and I can elevate my leg really well. 

I looked online at covers for it. They are easily available, because Lafuma is the most popular reclining chair used by mobile reflexologists for their clients to sit in.     The price and quality of the covers varied considerably,  and in the end I decided to makie my own.  I bought a throw from Costco to provide the fabric,  and I'm really happy with it.  I bought some matching lacing to tie it to the chair,  and I used my Kam press and grommits to create holes for the ties.  The fabric was a nightmare, I knoew it would be,  so I had to quicjkly overlock every edge as soon as I made a cut.   I also used my Accufeed foot, than goodness for it,  as I was machining several layers a lot of the time.

I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Another chicky milestone

The chicks have been out every day for the past week or so.   They love it!

They are still in the brooder in the shed at night. If the weather cools or, like today, it rains, then they are straight back inside.

They are 3 and a half weeks old now, and really well feathered.  They still have down on their tummies,  so we have to wait until the grass is dry before we put them out.

Currently thinking we have 2 boy Barnevelders, 2 Barnevelders, and 1 undecided.  For the Lehorns, O'm thinking it's 1 boy yellow partridge  1 boy silver duckwing,  and the others are girls.  Bertie's baby, who we're also referring to as Bertie,  is very slow to feathr so we're assuming boy.

We've been picking them up properly, finger between the legs,  right from the start.  They don't like being caught, but they are mostly calm and fairly relaxed once we have them.     We've been arrying them out two by two,  and carrying them in (unless it's raining) two by two as well.

The Tween has been to visit a couple of times, and has been great at spending lots of time picking them up, stroking them, and helping getting them used to being handled.

Chicks 2 weeks

2 weeks old already, and the weather is too rubbish for us to have them go outside at all.

We've made the round brooder bigger,   and we're going to remove the round walling today or tomorrow so they have more space - enough to fit in a seed-tray sized dust bath. 

I've been under the weather for a couple of weeks,  but I've ensured that they each get picked up at least twice a day.     Normally I pick up 6 at a time and put them in a trug with some food,  then pick up and stroke each one.  Then I get the other six out.

Here are the 6 Leghorn. One of themhas a broken toe, so I need to see if its possible to splint it (although I think its too late)

Still no idea on sex.  We have 3 yellow partridge, and 3 silver duckwing.  Number 8, the chick I htought wasn't going to make it,  is one of the yellow partridge ones.

All 12 chicks are coping with being picked up and stroked, but it wouldn't be correct to say they are happy with it.    They are happy to eat the delicious Garvo Alfastart while they are stroked, so that's all good progress.

The leghorns are more tolerant than the Barnevelders.  They are also the ones who watch us when we walk in,  their little owl-like faces look up and watch carefully.

One of them is particularly cheeky, and s/he's the reason we're removing the circle and putting up the taller barriers.

This picture was after the leghorns had been put back in the run, and I was collecting the barnevelders and putting them in the tub. The leghorn wanted back  to the tub that had the special treats in.

Can you see the two leghorns in the background?   That's what I mean abou their owl-like faces watching us.

Chicks

This year's chicks started hatching on 1st June, and continued throughout Saturday and Sunday.   

Only 1 of Bertie's eggs was fertilised, and s/he was the first to hatch.  We guessed, correctly, that Pimg and Pong's eggs would be clear,   we had hopes for Barbara and Annie's eggs,  and Phyllis was a last minute addition.      The black chick that hatched suggests it was from either Annie or Phyllis, and we'll be able to tell more when we see the shape of the comb.

6 out of the 8 Leghorn eggs were fertilised and hatched (3 Yellow Partridge and 3 Silver Duckwing),  and 5 out of the 8 silver laced Barnevelders hatched.

We had one traumatic hatch, and the little chick has survived so far. They are, of course, the cutest little chicks.

We've been trying to handle them several times a day, with mixed success.  It's helpful that we have two different breeds so we can divide them to make sure we handle each one),.  

We'll miss having Miss Tween around,  as she's great with the chicks.  She's old enough and responsible/sensible  enough for us to let her go and see them and handle them unsupervised,  which is a great help. 

Celebrations

It was my parents Significant Wedding Anniversary recently, and we had a party in the garden for all the family.

We were really lucky that the weather stayed (mainly) dry. Everyone seemed to have a good time.

We completely failed to have family photos taken, and many of the youngers had left by the time we thought about it.  We did manage to get (what is left of) the oldest generation together for a snap or two.

Those that stayed overnight nearby met for breakfast at a local pub the next day, and that was a really good way to finish it all up.